Review: LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 Does the Franchise Right

Playing with blocks has never felt so good.

It's difficult for me to articulate why I love TT Games' various LEGO titles so much. Maybe it's my deep-seated love of collecting digital trinkets, baubles, and doodads that stems back to Nintendo 64's many collect-a-thons. Perhaps it's the emphasis they place on splitscreen play that has become an endangered species in this post-online-multiplayer landscape that gaming currently resides in. Or maybe it's the fact that TT has continually tackled beloved properties and delivered some of the best gaming experiences those licenses have ever seen.

Alright, so maybe it's not all that hard for me to define why I love games like LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7. If you played any of the three other LEGO titles released in the past year and a half, then you'll need little in terms of a tutorial: Choose your character from a pool of hundreds, and then explore every nook and cranny of the license with the goal of destroying, rebuilding, or otherwise terraforming the landscape. This time around you guide The Boy Who Lived through the final three books in his saga. With Voldemort resurrected, it's up to you to traverse England and destroy the seven Horcruxes that make up the soul of the Dark Lord. As always, the story is presented in charming cut-scenes that dole out whimsy in hefty amounts.

Fans of Harry's first adventure will immediately notice the addition of a quickfire button that allows you to cast any spell without aiming at a specific target. This seemingly minor addition raises the tempo of the game dramatically, and breathes new life into the formula. Harry is also able to wield a handful of new spells: Aguamenti allows you to put out small fires and make plants grow, while Legilimens gives Harry the ability to read characters' minds and show you what you need to do to progress. While these elements don't reinvent the wheel, they do succeed at giving you a handful of new toys to play with throughout the world.

The LEGO games have always highlighted cooperative play, with each iteration continually evolving in terms of mechanical, camera and control tweaks all geared towards the goal of perfecting the two-player experience. Harry Potter: Years 5-7 is a new zenith for TT, and a shining example that many other developers could take a lesson from when building a game with co-op. The dynamic camera splits and rejoins seamlessly depending on the distance between you and your partner. It's always dangerous to play a game that takes all camera control away from the player, but TT has really turned the camera management into an art form. Likewise, each character's distinct abilities are constantly needed to progress through a level and uncover additional secrets. This division of labor is one of the elements that make the game so enjoyable for any player along the gaming spectrum.

The only gripes I have with the game are minor, and do little to tarnish the overall experience. It would've been nice to reward fans who played far too much of the original installment by allowing you to transfer over your save file -- including all of the characters you purchased the first time around. It's also worth noting that déjà vu sets in during a few sequences in the game. A minecart ride through the vaults below Gringotts Wizarding Bank plays nearly identical to a similar level in LEGO Indiana Jones, while a cave that houses a Horcrux bears a striking resemblance to a section in LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean. The one true offense the game can be accused of comes in the form of its boss encounters. These battles play out as carbon copies of one another: dodge a series of attacks, repel a projectile back at your adversary, and then repeat until their life bar has diminished. This banal repetition of what should have been memorable encounters takes otherwise great levels, and caps them with leaky corks.

Click the image above to check out all LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 screens.

Thankfully these sour elements don't detract too much from the game's overall successes. From the beginning of book five to the multitude of post-game content, LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 delivers a staggering amount One must wonder which beloved property TT Games will tackle next. With Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Pirates of the Caribbean all pretty much creatively tapped, the developers must have their sights on new horizons. In what may be a bit of foreshadowing, a robot bearing a striking resemblance to Pixar's WALL-E can be unearthed amidst the clutter of a Hogwarts' broom closet.

It's strange to say this of a game visually comprised of Danish geometric shapes, but LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 delivers the most fully realized vision of Rowling's world that our medium has seen. TT Games has once again raised their own bar when it comes to splitscreen co-op. Fans of the books and movies will find immeasurable joy in exploring the iconic locales with their favorite characters that have become so ingrained in the pop-culture lexicon over the past 15 years.

ipod and regular lego harry potter years 1-4

Lego Star Wars...

is this comprable to that particular title? Or are they somehow completely different, either way I'm super pissed it got a higher score than Skyward Sword because, as you all know, 1up has a single person reviewing every game on the site (man, it must suck to be that guy/girl).... :p

Coming from an oblivion whore...

I love the lego games...my little bro got the Pirates one and it was honestly some of the best fun ive had ina game ina good while...and that was playing with an 8 year old!! So as alot of people are rightly saying don’t compare this to the Skyrim. They are two totally different games, aimed at two completely different audiences....accurate review, keep them coming! :-)

I think I'd lose my mind if I worked at TT Games

Making the same game over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. For what, seven years now? God. Glad someone still enjoys these and I have no gripes with the review or the score, but I simply cannot play these games anymore.

Stil crossing my fingers

Review based on Genre

before the trolls and angry masses come along, lets consider how WE as gamers compare games to one another and rank/score them for ourselves. Lets consider what HP5-7 is, and what type of game it is, I'd say the rating is fair because its a reflection of how good the game is compared to OTHER GAMES IN THE SAME GENRE. I know people aren't happy with the Zelda rating, but its comparing apples to oranges.

On topic, I've never played a lego game, I am thinking I may get the last one (cheap) and try it to see if I like it! I know my little cousin and nephew really like HP (since I got them into it), and this seams like a great game that they could play (me too :p) and get to experience the HP universe in more of a kid friendly atmosphere!

Review Based on Reviewer

You're right! I'd add that the reviewer affects the score as well. Marty here seems to enjoy item collection whereas the Skyward sword reviewer didn't and that seemed to affect the final score based on what I read.The scores are nothing to get on about though. I'm still going to enjoy the hell out of skyward sword regardless

I either smell a war coming or I ignited it!

Hold On, I Got This

But I don't know which route should be taken. Do I make a sarcastic remark about how this means that clearly the Lego HP5-7 game will have a greater legacy than Skyward Sword? Should I say this proves 1up is not a legitimate gaming site? Do I call into question the deep seated prejudices of the reviewers?

none of those things

Open your EYES people

It's as plain as day! The Free Masons were bricklayers! Do you honestly believe it's a cooincidence that LEGO calls their products BRICKS?!?!

Can't you see that the LEGO people have infiltrated us at every level of society?!?! You think the President of the United States wields any actual power? Laughable! He's simply a pawn of our plastic brick-making overlords. Why do you think the WTC collapsed when jet fuel can't burn at temperatures high enough to melt steel? It's obvious: BECAUSE THE STEEL SUPPORTS WERE REALLY LEGOS!!

This review is no different... way to go 1up. How much did these LEGO puppetmasters pay you (or did they threaten you) for your soul??????

learningKnight

You poor, ignorant bastard!

How dare you expose our most closely gaurded secret!? Watch yourself, LearningKnight, you do not know the strength of the forces you taunt! Unless you relish the concept of a slow and painful death, I suggest this be the last time you make this mistake.

The Great LEGO King is watching you now. Tread lightly, o foolish Knight.

Other comments?

What other comments? The guy who commented just after you only mentioned the Zelda score in a "Hey, don't waste your time." kind of way, and it was a well reasoned response. The responses to your comment range from not giving a damn to a conspiracy theory that could very well have some basis in reality (why else would Legolands be in such strategic locations as Winter Haven, FL and Günzberg, Germany? I know, right?!)